Love Again
by WallflowerWeasley
Summary: Sam is a senior at NYU, so is Charlie. What happens when they bump into each other(literally)? Alternate universe, rated. T. Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know I know I shouldn't start new stories but I just had this idea and I couldn't help myself! Gahhh... **

**Anyway... I KNOW NOBODY REALLY READS AUTHOR'S NOTES, BUT PLEASE READ THIS ONE. IT'S KINDA IMPORTANT SO YOU DON'T GET CONFUSED. This story is sort of different. And I don't think anyone's ever written a story like this. In this story Sam and Charlie haven't met, like they're strangers. So it's an alternate universe. It's set in present time. And the characters might be OOC, you have been warned. And Charlie will be musical here, I may or may not be obsessed with him doing something musical...**

**Sam- college senior**

**Charlie- same (yay no age difference!) **

**So... Enjoy and review! **

Sam's PoV:

I never knew a bad day at college could change my life the way it did. I was still upset at the professors and the mean girl in my year and my stupid boyfriend and all the pressure to start a life after studies.

I was walking and fuming along the streets of New York, when I got a text from my best friend, Mary Elizabeth-

_Heyyyy, u ok? Heard u had a bad day. x_

**I replied- I'm ok. Goin to grab sum coffee. Caffeine always calms me down ;) **

_Lol okay. See u on Monday ;D. x_

I put my phone in my pocket and - "AAHHH! DAMN IT!" I cursed as I slammed into some guy's rock hard body and we both fell down. I realised my eyes were still closed and I opened them. I was looking at the two most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. They were blue, so blue...almost like the ocean. I looked at the rest of his face and I felt butterflies fluttering in my stomach. He had a well chiseled jaw, and strong features, and messy black hair. I felt his hand on my lower back and suddenly became very conscious of our position. My left hand was on his chest and my right hand was on the concrete floor, very close to his neck.

I awkwardly coughed and stuttered, "Um, ahem...uh..." His his widened in realisation and he quickly removed his hand from my back and I got up.

I offered him a hand and he took it smiling at me gratefully.

He stood up and said, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking. Uh, are you okay?"

I smiled politely and said, "Don't worry about it, it's okay. I wasn't looking either. Sorry. I'm fine, but are you okay? Did you hurt your head? I mean, you fell down on concrete-"

He chuckled and said, "I'm alright, please don't worry. I'm fine."

I looked up at him and smiled. I figured it wouldn't hurt to introduce myself, "I'm Sam, by the way."

He smiled back shyly and said, "I'm Charlie."

I looked down and saw that we were still holding hands.

He saw me looking and said, "I'll let go of your hand now. Sorry." He released my hand and I found myself missing the warmth, and I mentally scolded myself for thinking that way when I had a boyfriend.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Charlie. And I'm sorry for making you fall," I said.

"It was nice to meet you too, Sam. I'm sorry, too."

We smiled at each other and I walked past him. After a few minutes of walking and feeling like I was being followed, I looked back and saw Charlie walking a few feet from me.

I turned to look at him and said, "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you. I forgot my phone at Starbucks, I'm going to get it back," he said.

"Oh. You can walk with me," I offered. I still wasn't sure if he was lying or he actually forgot his phone. We kept walking in awkward silence, it was kind of suffocating.

I finally said, "Now that we are walking together, tell me about yourself."

He smiled at me and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"How old are you?"

"I turned twenty one last Christmas Eve, I'm a literature student at NYU," he said. He goes to NYU too? How come I never saw him?

"You go to NYU? I go there too, how come I've seen you? Do you go to the main campus?" (AN: I apologise for any inaccuracies. I don't really know how NYU works)

"Yeah I do. I've never seen you either. What year are you in?" He asked me.

"I'm a senior. I'm an MBA student," I said.

"Hmmm. That's funny. I'm a senior too," he said.

"Yeah it is," I agreed.

I asked, "What do you do to kill time?"

"Well... I read, I guess that's kind of obvious. I play guitar and piano, I sing, I write...again, I guess that's kind of obvious," he said, and I laughed. His shyness and awkwardness was cute.

"Oh, so you're the artsy kind of guy, huh?" I said and smirked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. What about you?" he said.

"Well... I study, you have to study to kill time. MBA is tough. I read too, I listen to music, usually I just look around for new bands, they have the best music," I said.

"Yeah, I agree. So what are your favourite bands?" He asked.

"I like the oldies, the Beatles, the Smiths, David Bowie, those kind of guys. I think the Lumineers are great, and I love Imagine Dragons, Linkin Park, Coldplay, Adele, Green Day, Panic! At The Disco," I said. I hoped I hadn't gone overboard with listing all the bands I liked. I didn't think I did, because he looked interested.

"Wow, I love all of those guys. You have really good taste, Sam," he said.

"Thanks. So which ones are your favourite?" I asked.

"I love all the bands you just listed. Like, there is this one song by the Smiths, it's called Asleep. It's from Louder Than Bombs. It's a beautiful song, though sometimes people think it's depressing. And there's this amazing song by David Bowie, it's called Heroes. I listened to it for the first time in middle school, and it took me years to find the song. But this song was worth all the searching and looking around. It's enough to make you feel infinite," he said.

"I haven't heard those songs, but I'll check them out. What did you say at the end?" I asked, I didn't understand what he meant.

"That the song is enough to make you feel infinite," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Charlie was a very nice person to talk to.

"I mean, it's like when you're going through the Fort Pitt Tunnel, have you seen the Fort Pitt Tunnel?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Great. So, it's like when you're going through that tunnel, with this one person, or even two or three people that you love the most in this world, and you had a first time, like your first kiss, or your first party, anything. And you're thinking about how special that moment was, and how you just want to keep reliving it, so it never ends, and you're thinking that somebody else was having a first time to something right in that moment. And you're listening to the radio. And as soon as you hit the tunnel, the signal fades and all the sound gets scooped up in a vacuum. And it's so quiet. And you're staring at this light at the end of the tunnel, and it seems so close, but you never seem to reach it. And when you finally give up and you think you'll never reach the light, you come right out of the tunnel and the music bursts out of the radio, and you think about how it seemed louder than before, and you look at the lights and the buildings and everything that makes you wonder, and you start to cry and laugh at the same time, because you realise that it is you living this moment, and you feel alive, you think that these moments will be stories someday, and you will be a mom or a dad, and your brothers and sisters will be aunts and uncles to your children. And you think that right now, these moments are not stories, this is happening. And in that moment, I swear, you are infinite."

I was speechless. I didn't know what to say to everything he just told me. But I did know that it was the best thing anyone had ever told me, and I would never forget it.

"Have you ever felt infinite?" I asked him in a quiet voice.

"Yes, it was right there in that tunnel," he said and smiled.

"That explains things," I said and he laughed. We kept walking in comfortable silence, and I started thinking about how good my mood had become just by talking to Charlie, and I smiled. Charlie stopped walking abruptly and started laughing.

I stopped and said, "What's funny?"

He calmed down and said, "We walked too far, almost a block away from Starbucks."

My eyes widened in surprise, had we gotten that engrossed in talking?

"Oh! That's...weird. I guess we just have more time to talk, then. But please pay attention," I said.

He laughed again and said, "I will."

We kept walking and talking, and Charlie made an exaggerated effort to keep his eyes on the path, and I shoved his shoulder.

We reached Starbucks and a cute girl from the counter came up to Charlie and said seductively, "Sir, I think you forgot your phone. Is this the one?" She batted her eyelids. Charlie didn't even seem to take notice.

"Oh right, that's the one. Thank you," he said emotionlessly. Apparently the girl was smart and took the hint, she gave me a death stare(which wasn't even scary) and walked away.

I came closer to him and whispered, "Charlie, that girl was totally hitting on you!"

Charlie said, "I noticed Sam. But thanks for telling me."

I flashed a thumbs up and said, "No problem!"

I ordered a green tea cream and asked Charlie, "Do you want anything?"

He smiled and said, "No, thank you."

We exited Starbucks and he walked me all the way to my apartment, even though I said I would be fine alone. I didn't tell him, but I really liked talking to him, and I was very happy that he insisted on walking with me. But the feelings were totally friendly, of course.

We reached my apartment building, and stood there looking at each other. I really didn't want to leave him, and he didn't look like he wanted to leave me either. I gave him a hug and we held each other for a couple of moments. I pulled back and kissed his cheek and said, "I had a great time today, Charlie."

"Me too, Sam. So... I'll see you around?" He said.

"Yeah, sure. Let's exchange numbers, I'll call you or you can call me and we'll hang out sometime," I said and we exchanged numbers. We stood there awkwardly for a few moments.

"Okay, then. Bye, Charlie. I'm really glad I bumped into you today," I said and smiled.

He grinned. "Me too, Sam. Bye," he said and kissed my cheek and left.

I walked up to my apartment, smiling to myself and thinking about how a stranger could change my mood like Charlie did. But with my luck, my good mood probably wouldn't last very long, and it didn't.

I walked into my apartment and found Craig, my boyfriend, sitting on the couch, looking pissed.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked as I threw my Starbucks cup in the trash can.

"I came to talk, but it seems like you're doing pretty okay on your own," he said coldly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Who was that guy downstairs? Why were you talking to him?" He asked angrily. I realised where he was going with this and my temper rose up.

"I met that guy today. I was going to get some coffee and we accidentally bumped into each other, and we picked up a conversation. He insisted on walking me home so I let him. I can to talk to other guys without anything romantic being involved, Craig. No need to get jealous," I snapped.

"I am not jealous. But why did he kiss you? And why did you kiss him? If you met him today, how were you so close?" He asked accusingly.

I glared at him and said, "It was on the cheeks, Craig. Were you spying on me?"

"No-n-no I wasn't," he stuttered.

I was getting really angry now. "Oh cut the crap. That's it, isn't it? You don't trust me. That's how low you'll go, Craig? Coming to my house and seeing if I had a guy in my bed, and when that didn't happen, you spy on me through the damn window!" I yelled.

One yelling contest later, I angrily told him to get out of my house and that it was over. He started pleading for forgiveness but I told him that I was fed up of our fights and arguments, and I saw no point in staying together, because there was no love left in our relationship. He told me to "fuck off" and walked out.

It was already past dinner time by the time we were done yelling at each other and breaking up. I wasn't hungry, so I decided to go over to Bob's.

Bob was an old friend, and he owned a club downtown. It was small, and not too many people went there, but those who did were always there to de-stress. Bob called amazing musicians to sing at his club, and good music and alcohol was just what I needed when I was upset or stressed.

I took a cab to his club, and my mind wandered to the strange boy I had met today. I guessed that's what I liked about him best, he was so unique and felt okay about it. My hormones said he wasn't too hard on the eyes either, but I told them to shut up. He probably had a beautiful girlfriend, and besides, I didn't think about him that way. I paid the driver and went in. It was more filled up than usual, that's probably because today was Friday. I told Bob to get me some vodka with cranberry juice. He gave me the drink and I played around with the straw. I froze when I heard a beautiful voice started singing after four bars of guitar.

_I'm gonna pick up the pieces,_

_and build a lego house_

_when things go wrong we can knock it down_

_My three words have two meanings,_

_there's one thing on my mind_

_It's all for you_

_And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got ya to keep me warm_

_and if you're broken I'll mend ya and keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on now _

I turned to look at the guy who was singing, and I gasped. The strange guy I met today was singing, and seemed to be looking straight at me as he kept singing.

_I'm out of touch, I'm out of love_

_I'll pick you up when you're getting down_

_and out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now_

_I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind_

_I'll do it all for you in time_

_And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now_

He sang the second verse and the chorus and the bridge, and soon I could hear loud applause from the crowd, and I joined in. He got off the stage and walked towards the bar, thanking people who complimented him on the way.

He took a seat next to me and said, "Hi."

"Hey," I replied. We were silent.

I said, "You're really good, Charlie."

"Thanks, Sam. Is this-" he pointed between us, "a freaky coincidence, fate pulling us together, or a stalker alert?" I laughed.

"Depends," I said.

"On what?" He asked.

"On how you look at it," I replied, and he smiled.

"You play here regularly?" I asked.

"No, it's a once in a while thing. Like, when sometimes when he can't find anyone new, or if I feel like. It's kind of a hobby," he said and shrugged.

I gulped down my second glass of cranberry juice and vodka, and I started feeling the alcohol set in.

"Is everything okay? You look a little low," he said.

I said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I broke up with my boyfriend an hour ago."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No, it's okay. We weren't working out anyway. He didn't trust me, I didn't trust him, and there was no love in our relationship. So there was no point in hurting each other by staying together," I said and waved it off.

"That's really brave of you, you know," Charlie said quietly.

"Really?" I said, looking at him for the first time. Our faces were closer than I'd thought.

"Yeah, it is. Most people take break ups hard. But I kind of figured out when I met you, you're nothing like most people," he said.

"How?" I asked and grinned. He took a gulp of his second glass of whiskey.

"I don't know. You're just...different," he said as if I was the most intriguing being he had ever seen.

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" I asked.

"It's the best thing about you," he whispered and his face inched closer and our noses touched, making me shiver a little. How was he doing this to me? I had only just met him today, and I didn't even know his last name. We kept talking, and without either of us realising it, our hands entwined with each other.

I looked at the time; it was almost two in the morning.

"I have to go, Charlie. It's really late," I said and picked up my stuff, detaching my hand from his in the process.

"Can I come with you? Like you said, it's really late, I want to make sure you get home safely," he said and got up with me. I nodded and we hailed a cab back to my apartment. We talked to each other the whole way, he told me that his parents lived in Pittsburgh, and he had an older sister and an older brother. I told him about my family, that my parents were divorced, and my mom married my stepdad giving me an awesome step-brother called Patrick.

We paid the driver and came out. We found ourselves standing exactly the way we were in the afternoon. I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek again, but this time he didn't let me go. He kept his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

"Charlie, it's late, let me go," I said, trying to ignore how much I sounded like I was dating him. Not that I had any intentions to.

"I will if you promise to have lunch with me tomorrow," he said, and kept pulling me closer.

"Okay Charlie, now let go!" I said, though I made no effort to move or squirm out of his grasp. My arms stayed around his neck.

"Promise?" He said, pulling me again. I could feel his body against mine, and I noticed how close our faces were, and I noticed how my arms adjusted every time he pulled me closer to him.

"I, Sam Jameson, promise that I will have lunch with you," I said. He grinned and let me go. I walked away from him and stopped at the door. I looked back at Charlie, who was still standing there looking at me quizzically.

I went back to him and said, "I feel courageous."

And I put my arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. He was surprised at first but recovered and kissed me back. We held each other and kept kissing for god knows how long.

The strangest thing was, I didn't regret kissing the stranger one bit.

AN: so? How was it? I might leave it as a one shot, I might continue it...but idk at the moment. Tell me what you think!

You know what's next... REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: hey guys! So I decided to continue the story instead of leaving it as a one shot. Ookay then. **

**Enjoy and review!**

Sam's PoV:

I woke up a little later than usual the morning after I met Charlie. I could still faintly taste him on my lips, and I smiled. I didn't regret kissing him one bit, I don't know why. It just felt so right. I remembered our plans for lunch, and my heart did a little happy dance. Maybe we could go to a good place from this, we could become something more than just friends. Then, my brain took over and said that I was going too fast with this. We had to get to know each other, and see if we were even compatible. His feelings for me were not a problem, I knew he liked me and he knew I liked him. But there was still doubt in my head. What if he kissed me back just for fun or to be nice? I didn't know what to think of it all since I had met him only yesterday, and one day is not enough to judge somebody's intentions. He really didn't seem like that kind of guy though, but then again Craig didn't seem like Mr. Possessive too when I first met him. I hoped he was a good guy, because I had never felt this way about anyone before, and definitely not in such a short time.

My phone beeped, and I grabbed it to see who texted me. My heart did another happy dance when I saw it was from Charlie.

_Good morning! I hope I didn't wake you :)_

I quickly replied- **good morning! :D no u didn't, I just woke up. Incredible timing, I must say ;)**

_Thanks, I guess. So...what are you doing in the afternoon? _

I laughed. I think he had forgotten about our plans for lunch today.

I wanted to play with him, so I replied- **nothin much...just going out for lunch with a friend. **

_Oh that's good. Is it girl time or something? ;)_

I laughed again and replied- **no. It's just someone I met yesterday. I think somebody's a little sleepy today... ;D **

He didn't reply this time, I thought I had said something wrong. I was about to type an apology when my phone started ringing. The caller ID said Charlie. I grinned and answered, "'Morning, sleepy head."

He chuckled. "Yes, I forgot. Now don't beat me up for it, because...well, I had a better sleep than I've had in a very long time." I blushed. He was talking about the kiss.

"Really? Any particular reason?" I asked pointedly, still blushing.

"Actually, yes. Something...quite wonderful happened last night, and I can't really stop thinking about it," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Wow, I wonder what it was," I said, the smile evident in my voice.

"I think I'm not the only one who's forgetting things today. Would you like me to brush up your memory a little?" He said, and it took all my willpower to not start giggling like a little girl. As if him hearing my heart hammering through my chest wasn't enough.

"Yeah, that would be nice," I said.

"So, I met this amazing girl yesterday. Now I know you would think that I had made an opinion of her too fast, but that's not true. Because you didn't need a million years with her to figure out how beautiful this girl was, and not only in her looks, in all ways. And if you did need a million years to figure that out, you're pretty slow. I bumped into her yesterday, and luck was on my side because we were going to the same place, but for different reasons but that doesn't matter. And we started a conversation, and she was a very nice person to talk to. And eventually, we had to part ways, even though I really didn't want to. I couldn't get her out of my mind you know. It was so weird, because I had never thought of anyone as much as I thought of her. Anyway, luck seemed to be on my side again because she came to Bob's bar, where I was performing for the night. And I had a great time with her, but sadly before I knew it, it was time to go. I did come with her all the way to her house, and I convinced her to have lunch with me. I was so happy. And I watched her walk up the stairs to her apartment. But right on the last step, she stopped and turned to look at me, and I didn't know why. She smiled at me, this wonderful smile that would melt even Hitler's heart, so I'm sure you know what it did to me. And so she smiled at me and walked back to me, and wrapped her arms around me. And then that thing I've been talking about happened, she kissed me. It took me a couple of seconds to figure out that it was real and I was supposed to kiss her back, and then I did. And it was so beautiful, and she was so beautiful. And I just couldn't believe that I was standing there, kissing this amazing girl that I liked so much. And I decided that... I wouldn't let her go, and we'd get to know each other, and trust each other. And I hoped that someday... we'd become... something a little more than friends. Does any of that ring a bell?" He said. It was all I could do to keep myself from having a fangirl attack.

"Yeah, I think that does ring a bell of this guy I met yesterday. Though I can't be sure," I said and we laughed.

We were quiet for a few moments.

"I am serious about what I said," he said carefully after some time, as if trying to put it in the best way he could.

"I know. I think what you suggested at the end is a very good idea, and we should start as friends and see where we go from there. Because...well... I really like you, Charlie," I almost whispered the last part.

"I really like you too, Sam," he said just as quietly.

"So...I'll pick you up at one?" He asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Where are we going?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing special. There's a diner downtown, they have great food," he said.

"Okay then. See you!" I said.

"See you!" He said.

"Bye..." We both mumbled and cut the phone.

After a couple of minutes of freaking out around the room, I went to the bathroom to change into my running clothes. I had a quick breakfast, grabbed my phone and headphones, and headed out.

*some time later*

I was starting my third round when I slammed into someone. I mentally cursed, "Not again!"

I would have fallen on my back with that person on top me if they hadn't pulled me in and taken the impact. I opened my eyes to find two familiar blue ones. I touched my forehead to his and started laughing.

"Wouldn't it be great if we stopped meeting like this?" Charlie said after I calmed down.

"Yeah, it would be awesome. I don't think I could live with myself if you ended up in the hospital because of me," I said. I got off him and held out my hand to him. He smiled at me and grabbed it to get up.

"Are you alright? You didn't hurt yourself, right?" I asked, remembering that he fell on the hard concrete.

He checked himself and I saw something red near his elbow.

I walked closer and grabbed his muscular arm and said, "Hold on..." I looked at his elbow and gasped. There was a fairly big wound on his elbow and surrounding areas.

"Oh my god! Charlie, you've hurt your elbow, that's a really nasty wound. Come on, I'm taking you home," I said, carefully examining his wound, the gash was big.

"Sam, don't worry about it, I'm fine," as soon as he said that he winced loudly.

"Tell that to someone who believes you. Come on," I said and pulled him along.

We reached my apartment and I made him sit on the couch while I got the first aid kit.

"You have a nice house," he said when I came back to him with the kit.

"Thanks, Charlie. Now, this is going to burn, so please don't kill me," I said as I took out the antiseptic.

"Okay," he said.

"Hold out your arm for me, will you?" I said. He nodded and held out his arm so his elbow was facing me. I put some of the antiseptic on a cotton ball and held his hand with my free hand. I gently dabbed his wound and he shrieked in pain, and nearly broke my fingers.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said pleadingly without stopping.

"You could've warned me!" He said as his face scrunched up in pain. I couldn't help but think how adorable he looked.

"I did warn you!" I said as I moved to another part of his elbow, he almost jumped off the couch.

"You didn't tell me it would hurt this much! I swear these things don't hurt this bad!" He said.

"Well, you could have been more careful, because the pain depends on the wound. I didn't tell you to heroically take all of the impact," I said a little angrily.

"I couldn't just let you fall, could I?" He argued.

"You could have found another way to not let me fall. You didn't have to hurt yourself," I snapped.

"You think I had enough time to figure out how to NOT let you fall and how to NOT let me fall and how to NOT injure anyone of us? I'm sorry, I am not genius enough to do all of that in five milliseconds," he said angrily.

"Then stop whining," I said.

"I'm not whining. It just hurts," he said.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. You didn't have to take the fall," I said.

"I did. I couldn't have let you get hurt. It's better that it was me," he said. I froze and looked at him. He had turned his head away from me, and I resisted the urge to grab his face and start kissing him. I patched him up and packed away everything. I was starting to get up and he grabbed me around my waist and pulled me back down.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I put my arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. "No, don't be sorry. I'm sorry for snapping at you. Thank you for saving me, Charlie," I said and pulled back, but our arms didn't move. We stared into each other's eyes and he whispered, "I really want to kiss you right now, Sam."

"Then why don't you?" I whispered back. I knew that it was wrong, and we were supposed to start as friends, but I couldn't help it. He leaned in slowly, and I closed the distance between our lips. We kissed for about fifteen minutes before pulling away, though I didn't want to.

"This is the last kiss you get till we figure...us out," I said.

His face fell and he said, "Okay." I chuckled and got up to keep the first aid kit back in its place.

I went back to him and said, "Promise me you'll change your bandages and dressings everyday."

He said, "But I don't know how to. Do you think maybe I could come to your house everyday to have them changed?"

I slapped his shoulder and said, "Don't be smart."

"I live closer to you than you think," he said.

"That sounds really creepy and what do you mean?" I asked with my eyebrow raised.

"I mean we're neighbours. I live two doors down," he said.

"That is just plain weird."

"I know. It's like..."

"Some 'divine' force is trying really hard to have us meet again and again. That sounds stupid," I said.

"Yes, that's true. Does that mean I can come to your house everyday to get my bandages changed?" He asked hopefully.

I laughed again and said, "Yes, you can."

"Thank you!" He said.

"We could use this time to get to know each other more," I suggested, and he nodded.

"So...what are your favourite books?" I asked him.

"Catcher In The Rye, Peter Pan, On The Road, Naked Lunch, The Great Gatsby, Walden, etcetera etcetera...what about you?" He said.

"I read a lot of Homer, and Percy Jackson, I'm a sucker for mythology, and all the books you mentioned. And the Harry Potter books. I love them," I said.

"Favourite colour?" He asked.

"Favourite colour...red," I said.

"Mine is blue," he said.

He was going to say something when his phone rang. He was going to disconnect but I told him to answer it.

"Hi Michael," he said. Pause.

"When? Oh... Monday?" Pause.

"Michael I can't afford hangovers right now, I have papers to write and finals to give..." Pause.

"Michael, you won't let me stay sober for more than ten seconds..." Pause.

"I have to...what? You know, there's something called weekends..." Pause.

"Okay, fine. Okay...I'll see you...okay, bye," he said and hung up. He kept sighing.

"What happened?" I asked.

"My best friend Michael's invited me to a party on Monday, and I can't ditch," he said.

"Why don't you want to go?"

"You know the semester's almost over, and finals are coming up. I can't be hungover on a working day," he said.

"Just have a lot of coffee after you're done. It's helpful," I said.

"So, my two options are hangover or no sleep," he said.

"That is one way of looking at it. Well, basically, yeah. Anyway, don't you have parties all the time? Why are you so worried about a hangover?" I asked.

"I don't really drink a lot. I don't have parties all the time," he said sheepishly.

"Oh, okay."

"Will you go with me?" He asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"Will you go with me? Michael said that I need to have a date, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to..." he trailed off and I smirked.

"So, I'll be your date?" I asked, still smirking.

"If you want to be," he said. I pretended to think about it long and hard.

"Alright, fine. If you insist, I'll go with you," I said nonchalantly, even though on the inside I was dancing with joy.

"Thanks, Sam," he said and smiled.

"No problem!"

Charlie looked at his watch and said, "It's already twelve now, so I'll go and change and come back at one. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's okay," I said. I walked him to the door and we hugged each other.

I decided to call my best friend Mary Elizabeth and tell her about what happened.

The rang a couple of times and a familiar voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hey it's me, Sam."

"Gee, thanks Captain Obvious."

I laughed and said, "I have so much to tell you. But first, I broke up with Craig."

"Finally! I had been waiting for you to throw that jerk out of your life for so long!" She said.

"Yeah well, lots of other things happened too." I said and told her about how I met Charlie and how I met him again and how I kissed him last night.

"You kissed him? Sam, do you know how stupid that is? He could be using you! You guys didn't go all the way, right?" She asked.

"Oh my god, Mary Elizabeth, no! And if you would stop interrupting all the time maybe I could tell you the rest of it," I said.

"There's more?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah, now shut up and listen." I said and told her about today morning, how I dressed his gash after he fell to save me from getting hurt, and how we ended up kissing again and that he asked me to go to a party with him, and our plans for lunch.

"That was really nice of him, so maybe he is a good guy after all. But don't you think you guys are moving way too fast?"

"It's not like that. We both do like each other, and I know he likes me because we talked about it in the morning. We're just starting off as friends, and we're going to lunch to get to know each other a little better. It's friends first, and then we'll see where we go from there. There's nothing between us, except healthy flirting," I explained.

"So you're telling me that you both told each other that you both like each other, but you're planning to stay friends, apart from healthy flirting."

"For now, maybe we figure out later that there is something romantic possible between us, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes...if it comes," I finished glumly.

"So you're going out for lunch...alone...with a boy...that you like...to get to know him better. Isn't that the same as dating?" Mary Elizabeth asked.

"No, I made a new friend and I'm going out with him to get to know him better," I said.

"A friend with whom you might pursue a romantic relationship at some point in time..."

"I can't think about it like that, Mary Elizabeth. I like him, I like him a lot. And I think it would be awesome if he was my boyfriend. But we both know that it's too soon, and we both know that we can't be together like that, at least for now. We spoke about it, and he understands that this...whatever we have needs time. He understands and I understand, and we're okay with the direction we're starting out in. That's all that matters, for now," I said.

"So, I guess it's good that you guys have it all figured out, and he's not rushing you into anything. I just hope it works out."

"Yeah, me too. I have to go get ready now...I'll talk to you later," I said.

"You have to call me and tell me what happened, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Bye," I said and hung up. I decided to take a shower again, and I took out a pair of dark blue jeans, a white tank top a black cardigan. I was dressed and ready by 12:50, so I still had ten minutes to spare, so I listened to music. The doorbell rang exactly at 12:59, and I smirked. I opened the door to find Charlie's smiling face. He was wearing glasses.

"Now I know another thing about you," I said.

"What?"

"That you're punctual."

"Oh, um...okay," he said awkwardly, and I laughed.

I grabbed his good arm and ushered him out.

"How's your elbow?" I asked.

"It's fine, it burns a little, but it's fine," he said.

"Don't let it get wet, okay?"

"Okay," he smiled.

"How are we going to go downtown?" I asked after we were outside. I didn't realise that I was still holding his arm.

"We're taking my car," he said. We walked to a blue Prius, and he opened its door for me.

"Thank you, kind sir," I said dramatically.

"You're welcome, my fair lady," he said and bowed clumsily.

When he got into the driver's seat he said, "I can never do a good British impersonation."

"I noticed," I said.

"You want to listen to music?" He asked as he started to drive.

"Yeah, car rides without music are awkward," I said. He pulled over and connected his phone to the stereo.

Do you like Mumford & Sons?" He asked as he browsed through his music library.

"I've never heard their stuff, though they say they're very good."

"Yeah they are. Do you want to listen to a song by them?"

"Sure," I said. I watched as he went to a playlist and selected a song, and then put his iPod on shuffle. The song started with soft guitars, and then the banjo and all the other instruments entered, and it went back to guitars, and then the guy started singing.

_You hold your truth so purely_

_Well swerve not through the minds of men_

_This lie is dead_

_And this cup of yours tastes holy_

_But a brush with the Devil can clear your mind_

_And strengthen your spine_

_But fingers tap into what you were once_

_And I'm worried that I blew my only chance_

We listened to the song in silence, it was just so beautiful, nothing had to be said. When the song finished, I said, "I want to hear more."

Charlie smiled and said, "Okay. There's this song called White Blank Page, it's great." Since he was driving, I looked for the song in his phone. I found it and pressed play. It was as beautiful as the last one.

"Oh my god, this is so good! I want to hear more...please?" I said.

"Sure, listen to...I Will Wait." He said. I found it and pressed play. It was amazing.

"These guys are so good! Wow," I said.

"Yes, they're amazing." He agreed.

Charlie had a great taste in music. He even made me listen to Asleep and Heroes, they were very good songs. We listened to more songs and talked about our favourites, and I was having a great time. It was never this fun with Craig, he never liked to talk about books and music and the things I liked.

We arrived at the diner, it was a small and cozy kind of place. Perfect for a Saturday lunch. We got a booth in the corner of the diner, and I sat across Charlie facing the the door. We both ordered double cheeseburgers, and everything was going perfectly. We were having a great time, and we never ran out of things to say.

Correction: everything was going perfectly until I saw Craig enter the diner with a girl, who was wearing a shirt that said, "I've been taken for one year now!"

**AN: Sam has too many coincidences. They'll go down soon. **

**Peace and virtual blue cookies! (::)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: hello my people! New chapter new chapter yay! So I updated "Years Later" and my one shot series, so please check that out. **

**RANDOM SHOUT OUT TIME: Please check out my fellow author Not-What-It-Looks-Like's stories! They're great and he/she (I haven't figured that out yet :p) is an amazing author. Please don't ask me why I did this, I just felt like doing it...heheh...**

**So...enjoy and review!**

Sam's PoV:

_Correction: everything was going perfectly until I saw Craig enter the diner with a girl, who was wearing a shirt that said, "I've been taken for one year now!"_

Who was that girl with him? It shouldn't bother me, and it didn't. What bothered me was the girl's T-shirt, and why she was with him. Maybe she was his friend, and maybe her one year anniversary was with someone else. But why would he be here then? She didn't look like that gal pal he introduced me to. Could he be-

"Sam?" Charlie said, shaking my hand, making me jump.

"Yeah, sorry...what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything. You were saying something about your evil science teacher in middle school, and then you just kind of zoned out. Is everything alright?" He sounded concerned, which made me feel bad.

"Yes, everything's fine. I just...I thought I saw something...someone," I replied while staring at them.

"It seems to me that you're still watching that something...or someone," he said and I looked at him. Apparently he had followed my gaze and was staring at them too.

"Who are they?" He asked, but I didn't reply. I felt his intense stare on me, and I looked everywhere but at him.

"Who are they, Sam?" He asked again.

I sighed, he wouldn't let it go unless I told him. "He's my ex-boyfriend, the one I broke up with yesterday. I don't know who the girl is."

He was quiet, I looked up to see a dark expression on his face. He asked quietly, "Do you think he was..." I knew what he was talking about.

"I don't know. Maybe he was."

"How long had you both been going out?" He asked gently, like he was tending to a fresh wound.

"One and a half years last month. He was my longest relationship so far." It disturbed me how easily he could get me to talk about things I would be uncomfortable discussing with someone I barely knew. Someone like him. He didn't say anything, but I noticed that he didn't let go of my hand. I felt grateful to him, because I needed somebody's support if I wanted to stay here any longer, and Charlie gave me that support. We watched intently as a waitress brought out a "happy anniversary" cake, and they both grinned at each other. My suspicions were pretty strong now, and instead of feeling angry at him for cheating on me, I felt sorry for the girl. I wondered who he was cheating on her with. And I wondered how she would have her heart broken. He said something to her and went to the men's room. I watched the girl for a few moments, she didn't look all that bad. She was pretty, with dirty blond hair and brown eyes, and she had-wait. Was that Charlie? Why was he walking to her? Did he know her? He would have told me if he did. He walked to her and said something. The girl glanced at the men's room and replied to him. They both said something and smiled, and he walked back to our booth.

I gave him a death glare, and I swear he cringed. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" I hissed at him.

"I asked her who the boy with her was. I said I thought I recognised him from somewhere and was wondering if I had the right person. She said...she said..." Oh.

"What did she say?" I said, it came out harsher than I'd meant it to.

"She said he was her boyfriend, his name was Craig, and they're out here to celebrate their one year anniversary," he said angrily. But I had a feeling that the anger wasn't directed at me.

It took a while for that information to sink in. But when it did, it hit me like lightening. I just sat there, staring at nothing, trying to process it all. And then I got up, and said, "I have to go. I had a great time today, Charlie. Bye." Without giving him a chance to say anything, I walked out. I wasn't sure where I was going, and I wasn't sure when the tears starting coming. But before I knew it, I was in the park sobbing heavily.

I heard a familiar voice calling, "Sam! Sam!" But I didn't stop. Charlie's steps got louder, which meant he was getting closer, and soon his hand grabbed my arm tightly and stopped me. I'm not sure who reached out to hug whom first, I guess his hand sort of unintentionally yanked me into his arms. I didn't pull away, neither did he. In fact I tightened my grip on him and snuggled deep into his chest and cried, and he held me close against him. We stood there for quite some time as I cried and he rubbed my back and occasionally stroked my hair. He pulled me over to a bench in the corner, and we sat down. Fifteen minutes of crying later, I calmed down and said, "I was always loyal to him, Charlie. I got endless chances, but I never cheated. Not even a one night stand. I met so many people who were willing to be in a relationship with me, but I always refused. Then why did he do this to me?"

"I can't see why, Sam. I really can't. He is crazy to not see how amazing you are."

"Was I not good enough for him? Was I that bad that he had to cheat on me?" I started crying again, and he pulled me closer.

He made me look at him and said, "Sam, don't ever say that again. He was not good enough for you, not the other way round. You're so beautiful, and you deserve so much more."

I snuggled back into his chest and said, "It always happens. Always. I just keep asking myself, why do I, and everyone I love, pick people who treat us like we're nothing?"

He didn't say anything for a few moments. Eventually he whispered, "We accept the love we think we deserve." I was quiet. And I didn't say anything for a very long time.

"This is not the first time I've been betrayed," I whispered, hoping he would see where I was going with this.

"That doesn't mean it can't be the last time you'll ever get betrayed. I promise, you'll find someone someday. And this person will be honest with you, and he'll love you the way you deserve to be loved. Don't lose hope, Sam."

"When? When will I find someone who will be honest with me? How will I find him?"

"You'll know. You'll see him, and even in the most trying times, you'll see him and everything will be okay. And you'll know that he loves you and he would know that you are a gorgeous woman. And to him, you'll be the most gorgeous woman in the world," he said.

I shook my head and said, "No. I don't think I can. I don't think I can love someone again. I'm sorry. I can't. I'm tired of falling, Charlie. I'm tired of falling hard, and I'm tired of getting hurt. I'm sorry." He sighed heavily.

He said, "Don't apologise, Sam. I understand. I know how much it hurts when you love somebody and they just throw you away. It hurts so bad." It surprised me when he said that. He was generally the happy and optimistic person, but now he sounded damaged and hurt. I had a hunch that I was not the only one who had been betrayed.

"What happened?" I asked him in a gentle whisper. He said nothing.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Charlie."

"No, it's okay. It happened last year, right at the beginning. We had been together for almost two years, I had never been with someone that long. I loved her very much, she meant a great deal to me. I had been noticing her strange behaviour for almost six months. The first four months I thought I was hallucinating, but then she started to get seriously weird for those two months. She would zone out, snap at the simplest of things. That's when I realised that something was wrong. I probably wouldn't have done anything about it, if not for my friends, who saw her at the club with...someone. An ugly showdown happened, and she...she told me...that she never loved me. I haven't dated anyone ever since, despite my friends telling me to move on and date girls. I don't mean anything bad by this, but that's the reason why my friend Michael told me to bring a date to the party. So, I understand that you feel this way, and it's okay." I felt a tornado of emotions go through me after he finished talking. I felt extremely grateful and relieved that he understood that I didn't want to go out with anyone, and I felt devastated that someone as wonderful as him was treated that way. He didn't deserve this; getting cheated upon by the girl he loved, and then just when he started moving on, he got rejected by me before we even started anything.

"You'll find someone, Charlie. Someone a million times better than me," I said.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because you deserve it. Believe me, any girl would kill to have you as her boyfriend." He laughed at my compliment, which for some reason made me smile.

"Or maybe I'll just die a single man," he said. I pretended to think about it.

"No, I don't think the ladies will let you stay that way for very long. I think I'll die a single woman."

"I don't see how. But let's not think about it. I get bad thoughts." He said uncomfortably, and I laughed, having almost forgotten about everything.

"Like what?"

"Firstly, it makes me want to be with you very bad, but don't worry about that. Secondly, I get bad visions of old age that I'd rather not describe," he said. I stiffened ever so slightly at his comment about wanting to be with me, but I ignored it and managed another laugh.

"I think we'll be fine...single or taken," I said, looking up at him.

He smiled and said, "We'll be fine."

**AN: two updates! You're welcome XD you didn't see that coming (the rejection part. I guess everyone saw the cheating thing coming) did you? Heheh I'm evil... MWOOOHAHAHAHAHA. **

**Anyway...tell me if you liked this chapter...and stuff like that... **

**You know what's next... REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: hi guys! Here is a new chapter, yay! Now I'm trying incorporate the important elements from the perks story so that this alternate universe plot line remains loyal to the book, even if there is no age difference, and Charlie is musical, and they're based in New York. So could you please let me know about this and give me some input on how I'm doing?**

**I updated Years Later, so please check that out! **

**Okay then. Enjoy and review!**

Sam's PoV:

Charlie drove me around town, and we hung out for the rest of the day at the craziest places. We went to the museum of natural history, took a long walk in Central Park, and went to Times Square. I ended up doing some retail therapy, but then I felt bad because I was with Charlie and I didn't get him anything, so I made a mental note to get him something good, if not now, later. I could tell he was trying to distract me, because I almost always ended up talking about Craig. And eventually, it started working. I was laughing at the things he noticed and showed me, things that I normally wouldn't have paid attention to, but now that I did, I realised how utterly ridiculous this world was. Like, he showed me a guy, the kind of guy who wears baggy jeans which hang halfway down his butt, who was wearing a different coloured shoe in each foot. "How in the world does that make anyone cool? I mean, he obviously has no sense of how to wear clothes. And what's with those ridiculous jeans? Why can't he wear pants that fit him and don't sag all over the place? Imagine, what if he trips over those pants and they fall off? He won't look so cool then, will he? Do you have any idea as to why these people wear clothes that are like, five sizes bigger than what they're supposed to wear?" He asked. By the time he put his case forward, I had tears in my eyes of laughing so much, and I was clutching my stomach because it hurt because I laughed so much.

"Charlie...Charlie...stop...my stomach hurts...I have absolutely...absolutely no idea...why these idiots...wear these...clothes..." I panted. He burst out laughing when he saw my face, which was probably tomato red. We walked alongside each other, it surprised me how easy it was for us to be around each other even if we'd met only yesterday. And then I remembered what I said to him earlier that afternoon, and I descended from my happy high.

Charlie seemed to notice that, because he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking," I said and smiled softly.

He grabbed my hand and said, "Is it about this afternoon?"

"No...yes. Well, both." He looked at me, urging me to go on.

I sighed and said, "Never mind. Forget about it."

"Sam..."

I sighed again and said, "It's nothing. I was just...I was just thinking about what I said in the park. I feel bad, it's not fair to you. One moment I say I want to be more than friends and just hours later I say I can't fall in love again. I feel like I'm throwing you around, I-" he didn't give me a chance to finish because he put his arms around me and hugged me tightly, and I hugged him back gratefully. I needed the support he was giving me.

"Sam, don't feel bad. It's okay. It's much better you made yourself clear than us going towards something you don't want."

"But...but I do want this something. It's just something I don't think I can have. I don't want to hurt you...or myself," I whispered.

"Okay. It's much better you told me that than us going towards something you want but you can't have," he whispered back. He rubbed my arm reassuringly and pulled away, and I said, "Charlie, I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me you won't waste time thinking about me that way. I want you to see other people, since I have ruined whatever minimal chance we had of becoming a thing," I said, looking down at the path.

"I can't promise that," he said after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to make a promise I can't keep. I will try and see other people though. But I can't promise to not think about you that way," he said without meeting my eyes.

"Okay." That was all I could say. What was one supposed to say when somebody told you that they were okay with staying friends and yet they couldn't promise to not think about you that way?

We reached home and he hugged me good bye, and we went our separate ways.

The first thing I did when I walked through my door was to call Mary Elizabeth.

"Hello?"

"Charlie and I can't be together like that," I said.

"Oh hey, Sam. But why not?" Mary Elizabeth asked.

"Craig was cheating on me." I held back the tears that were threatening to spill out.

There was silence. Finally, she asked in a deadly calm tone, "How long?"

"One-ahem...one year..." I whispered.

"Oh, you just wait till I find him and I will make sure he can never reproduce! That little son of a-"

"Mary Elizabeth, no! It was my fault. I trusted the wrong person and I got hurt. I'm just not going to make that mistake again," I said.

"And just how exactly...wait, did you...did you do what I think you did?" She asked, part suspicious, part horrified.

"What do you think I did?"

"You...you rejected Charlie, didn't you?" She said accusingly.

"Well, not exactly. I just told him that I was tired of falling hard, and I was tired of getting hurt, and I couldn't love someone again," I defended.

"Sam! You can't just give up! Not when you actually found a nice guy!"

"How do you know he's a nice guy? He could be a serial killer for all I know," I said.

"He was okay with it, wasn't he?" She asked smugly.

"Well, he was..."

"I rest my case. Nobody would be okay with staying friends with the person they like! And definitely not when they had a talk about maybe becoming a couple the same morning. Either he is a really nice guy or he's just that crazy about you," she said pointedly.

"He can't be crazy about me! I met him only yesterday!" I said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing now you know almost everything about him. I mean, this was a get-to-know date, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't a date. Mary Elizabeth, you are hopeless. And I'm sure there's a lot I don't know about him. Nobody tells everything about themselves on the first...meeting," I finished awkwardly.

"Sam, you're crazy, you know that? Why did you have to complicate things? You should've just gone ahead and asked him out. It's not like that would've made a significant difference to your day. I'm sure you both held hands, and I'm sure you grabbed his arm, and I'm absolutely positive that he hugged you after you found out about...him." Damn her and her sureness.

"Fine, we did all that. But it was in a friend way!" She was quiet. That made me angry, because it made me feel like I was a kid who was being very difficult.

"I hope you know if you end up falling for him, you'll be screwed."

"I won't fall for him," I said.

"What if you do? Come on, Sam. Be practical and come out of your dreamland for a minute. We both know that nobody has control over whom they fall for. What if you do fall for him? What do you plan to do then?" She demanded.

"I-I don't know."

"Yeah, you're screwed."

"Why can't a boy and a girl live a happy life and just stay friends? Why do they HAVE to end up in love with each other?"

"They can live a happy life and just stay friends if the boy is gay or the girl is married or something. Okay, fine! A boy and a girl can stay friends, but not when they have already admitted their romantic feelings for each other. That's different," she said triumphantly.

"You're not making this easy for me, you know."

"This isn't about me. I'm just saying, you falling for him is kind of inevitable. So just be prepared. And I'm coming over in fifteen, call Charlie too. I want to see if he's good boyfriend material," she said and cut the phone before I could object.

I guess my best friend will be meeting my other...friend...sort of.

**AN: that was terrible. I'm sorry this was so bad. I'll try to make them better. Now, this is just for fun and it'll probably end in maximum 14 chapters. My main focus is Years Later right now. And I just saw the reviews... ALMOST 80! Thanks guys. **

**Virtual blue cookies! (::)**


	5. Chapter 5

Sam's PoV:

Hi, Sam," Charlie greeted pleasantly when I called him to invite him over.  
"Hey, Charlie. Do want to come over?"  
"Sure. When?"  
"Now...?" I said sheepishly. It was so weird, we'd just said bye half an hour ago.  
"Okay...is something wrong?" He asked. Obviously he was thinking the same thing as me.  
"No! Nothing's wrong. My-um...my best friend...wants to...meet you...?" It came out a bit like a question.  
I was just about ready to die from awkwardness syndrome.  
"You told her about me and she thinks I'm your boyfriend so she wants to see if I'm good enough for you? Okay, I'll come over in ten minutes."  
I smiled, "You made this so much easier, Charlie. Thank you. See you soon!"  
After he cut the phone I found myself cleaning the house up rigorously and later dressing myself up. Why was I dressing up for him? I disregarded the question and settled for not changing. Before I knew it, the bell rang. He really was very punctual.  
I opened the door and said, "Hi! Come on in." He smiled and we hugged.  
We sat down on the couch and he asked, "So, what's your best friend like?"  
"Well...her name is Mary Elizabeth, she is studying politics as her major, she can be extremely intimidating, especially when she meets new people. She is also very protective of people she loves, I am proud to say I am one of them. She also has a very good taste in music, so I think you both will get along. The most important thing about her though, is that she is a feminist, and you will die if you say anything that puts women down. That's Mary Elizabeth."  
All Charlie had to say was, "She seems nice."  
I laughed and said, "Yeah, she is nice. So...how've you been?"  
"Sam, we met fifteen minutes ago. You're seriously asking that question?"  
"Well, a lot can happen in fifteen minutes...god that sounds wrong," I said and shook my head.  
"I guess I have a boring life then. I just sat on the couch and read and listened to Asleep," he said.  
"What were you reading?" I asked.  
"A paragraph from The Catcher In The Rye."  
"Which paragraph?"  
"The one where Holden tells Pheobe about how he would really want to be a catcher in the rye. I don't know why but that paragraph really means a lot to me," he said.  
"That was a very well written paragraph...good choice Charlie," I said.  
"Thanks Sam."  
The doorbell rang and distracted me, because we had started staring at each other again. There were a only few things I had been more thankful for than this.  
"Hi Sam!" Mary Elizabeth greeted.  
"Hey! Come on in," I said and ushered her in.  
Charlie got up when she walked in and introduced himself. She was acting a bit cold to him, but he didn't mind. I guess he took my warning seriously.  
"So, what do you do?" Mary Elizabeth asked...demanded.  
"Well, I am a college student. I go to NYU to study literature and creative writing. So, I am a writer."  
"Okay. How many girlfriends have you had?" I glared at her. Way to he tactless. How could she ask such a personal question thirty seconds after meeting him? I also shot an apologetic look at Charlie, who smiled and said, "One. I told Sam about her this afternoon."  
She was his first girlfriend? I couldn't believe that a guy like him didn't have girls falling for him all over the place starting high school. It probably was true, but for some reason I was having a very hard time accepting that he's only had one girlfriend.  
There were more personal questions, and more awkwardness, something which Mary Elizabeth was completely oblivious to and Charlie was trying his best to avoid. And I just sat there dying. It had come to a point where I was ready to scream, when Charlie's phone rang.  
"Hi, I'm with someone right now, I'll call you back okay?" He said but when the other person replied he froze with this horrified look on his face.  
"What? When? How?" He asked. I didn't know what was up, but I could tell that something really bad had happened. Even Mary Elizabeth couldn't turn a blind eye to that because I saw her give me a nervous glance.  
"I'm coming. What hospital?" He said standing up and grabbing his jacket. Mary Elizabeth and I stood up too. So somebody was in the hospital, I think they were very close to him because he looked close to crying. He looked so distressed, it was painful to watch. He cut the phone and stared at me.  
"Charlie...what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.  
"I have to go, I'm sorry. It was really nice meeting you Mary Elizabeth. I need to go now, bye," he said and started to leave.  
I grabbed his arm and asked him, "What happened, Charlie? Who's in the hospital?"  
A single tear dropped from his eye as he said, "My best friend. My best friend shot himself, Sam."  
Horror washed over me. "Michael?" I asked meekly.  
"Yes." He said. Michael shot himself? The same best friend who was going to throw a party tomorrow? How was that possible?  
"I'll come with you," I said and started to grab my jacket.  
"No, don't. I can handle it."  
"I'm not going to let you go alone, Charlie. Deal with it. Let's go," I said wearing my jacket. I turned to Mary Elizabeth but she was gone. She left a note saying, "no need to explain. Go with him, he needs you. He is a nice guy by the way."  
I smiled for a second and stuffed the note in my pocket, Charlie was already at the door. I ran up to him and grabbed his hand, which he held on to tightly. He looked at me a little helplessly as we fast walked to his car, and I told him, "Calm down, Charlie. I'm not going to tell you not to worry, because he's your best friend and everything, but calm down. For Michael's sake."  
He nodded nervously and said, "Yeah, okay. I don't get it, Sam. Why would he do something like this. I thought...I thought he was happy. He has a great girlfriend who loves him as much as he loves her, he has good friends, he's doing well at school, I don't understand."  
I stayed quiet. He made it sound like Michael really had a great life, shooting himself really sounded stupid. Then why would he do this?  
Family.  
Family can cause enough trouble for you to even consider taking such desperate measures. "Maybe he had problems at home. Fighting parents, fighting cousins, fighting everyone. Family is enough to make you think of do something like this. Maybe he felt abandoned by his family because they were all too busy trying to solve their own problems. Maybe he felt alone, like he had nobody to talk to." We were inside the car and were driving when I put my guess forward.  
He kind of exploded and yelled, "He could've talked to me! I would have helped him! At least I would have tried! How can you say he had nobody to talk to? I fucking LIVE with him, he knows everything about me! How can he not feel comfortable with talking to me? We've known each other for years, Sam...I just-" He had starting crying, and I made him pull over and we both got out. I pulled him into a short tight hug and made him sit shotgun. He told me where the hospital was and I drove us the rest of the way in silence.  
When we reached the hospital, he froze and stared at the building. I didn't even want to know the thoughts that were going through his head at that moment. I grabbed his arm and pulled him close to me. "Charlie, it's natural to get bad thoughts, I'm not going to lie, I'm thinking the same things too. But...you have to at least try to pull yourself together, you don't even know how grave his situation is. Please, be strong, Charlie. I know it's hard but I also know you can do it." That's when his body crashed into mine, holding me so tightly, I had no choice but to hold him just as tight. He whispered something in my ear, something which made me regret saying what I said to him earlier this afternoon.  
"This is why I like you so much. You don't lie."  
I didn't know what to say, so I kissed his and whispered, "I'm sorry." I really meant it, too. I grabbed his arm and we walked to the surgical ward of the hospital.

* * *

We had been at the hospital for about four hours, and it was well past midnight. I had gone to the cafeteria to get something to drink for Charlie and myself. I paid for the drinks and my phone started ringing. Charlie was calling me.  
"Hello?" I said. I still didn't get why people always said that even when they knew who was calling.  
"S-Sam?" Charlie's soft voice sobbed. My heart sank into my stomach.  
"I'm here, what happened Charlie?"  
"He's dead. Michael's dead," he whispered and started sobbing violently. I told him I was coming and ran back to the waiting area. Charlie was sitting there, crying heavily. He was crying so much he was shaking and was very red. I quickly sat beside him and gave him an awkward sideways hug, I didn't even realise I was crying too, crying for someone I didn't even know. I held him as close as the arm rest between us allowed me to. He kept murmuring things, saying that he didn't know what to do and how could Michael leave him and things like that. I just held him and rubbed his back. I didn't know what else to do. He looked so broken. I convinced him to come home with me, it took a while because he kept saying he couldn't leave Michael here. But I did get him home and told him to stay the night, I didn't think he could spend tonight alone.  
He cried all night and I just held him close to me. That was all I could do.

AN: okay. I need to go, see you next week!

You know what's next... REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: update time! So, I think I have a proper direction as to where I want to go with the story, so yeah. This will be my focus from now. Okay then. I don't think this will be more than 10-12 chapters, but you never know.**

**Enjoy and review!**

Sam's PoV:  
*three months after Michael's death*

I had been spending a lot of time with Charlie, helping him cope with Michael's death. He had been absolutely miserable, and one month later, he really wasn't any better. Which was why I was practically living with him, we spent a lot of time talking about things he liked to talk about, and I got to know him so much better. He had a tough life, and Michael was there for him through a lot of it, which was why he was so devastated. He lost his aunt when he was very little, and he used to talk to Michael about her. A couple of years later he had to move away and they lost touch, so he started writing letters to an anonymous pen pal to cope with freshman year of high school and everything. That was where he found his passion for writing from. From stories he started writing poetry, and from there he started writing songs, and taught himself how to play guitar and piano. I still don't know how but he said that his parents tried to help him through his nervous breakdown and tried to be there for him even when he kept shutting them out, so they helped him get the resources and things like that. He told me a lot about his school life, I don't really remember how we started talking about school but I discovered that I wasn't the only one who had a tough time in school. And we weren't talking about academics.  
He told me one day when I was spending the afternoon with him, "I was a loner in school, very shy. I never participated; I always stayed on the sidelines, things like that. I still have trouble with this. I would still rather stay alone or with...a good friend like you than attend a party with tons of people there. A lot of experiences in freshman year taught me to stop doing that, for example my English teacher taught me how to write and how to stop slipping into the shadows, and writing these things on paper helped me look back on them and learn something. I still have a long way to go, though..."  
After this I didn't realise when my confessions started slipping out, I started telling him everything. I still didn't understand how he made it so easy, getting me to talk about personal things.  
"I had trouble too. I guess...I guess you could say that I...got lost. I got lost and I had to face the pain to find myself again. I...I had a reputation, they called me the...the 'blow queen.' I hope you know what that means because I can't explain it. You know Charlie...I used to sleep with guys who treated me like shit...and get wasted all the time. I think I would've kept doing it too, but something woke me up, and I realised that I couldn't afford to keep hurting myself this way. Because then nothing would remain of me. So I got myself out of that mess-don't even ask how, it wasn't easy-and started studying...and got into college..."  
And through these confessions it changed from me helping him get over one big loss to us helping each other get over those millions of smaller losses that amounted to so much more and those we still hadn't moved on from, even though we never admitted it to anyone...anyone but each other.  
At the start of the second month of knowing him, I could call Charlie my best friend. I told him everything, whatever I felt that day, or if anything interesting or boring had happened. And he told me things too. He shared stories about him and Michael or his classes or some other weird observation he had made that day. By the third month he was the one person I trusted the most in this world. He was the one with the answers. If I ever needed something I could just go to him and he'd help me, and I did the same for him. In just three months we had come so close, sometimes when I was with him I felt the whole world could get swallowed up or die and it wouldn't matter as long as Charlie was there with me. He was starting to become a necessity for me to function properly, to get through the day. And every time I thought of this Mary Elizabeth's words rang in my head. I would really be screwed if I started falling for him. I was in denial that time, I didn't want to admit that I was falling for him, and I was falling hard. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it except enjoy my journey to hell. Because it seemed too sweet to miss. And most of all...it seemed worth it.  
Mary Elizabeth made me realise all this when I zoned out once again thinking about the night before when Charlie and I spent the night cuddling and watching movies. We weren't leading each other on or anything, cuddling was just a way for us to feel comfortable, and that was okay.  
"Did you have sex with him or something?" She asked out of the blue. I nearly spit my coffee out. Blunt questions was the way she talked, but even I wasn't expecting that.  
"What the hell, Mary Elizabeth? Why would you even think of that?"  
"Well, you keep zoning out with that dreamy, "I'm-so-in-love" expression, people get that when they have sex for the first time with their boyfriends. So I couldn't help but think...you know, since you guys are unofficially dating and all..."  
I fumed, "Firstly, we are most definitely not dating. I'm helping him get over Michael's death, it was a very big loss for him, Mary Elizabeth. We're not dating." I wish we were- wait, what? No.  
She smirked, "You're falling for him, aren't you?"  
"No! You've completely lost it, Mary Elizabeth!" I said, though even a two year old would've been able to tell that I was lying. And I was lying to myself about that too.  
"I haven't lost it, you're falling for him! I told you," she said in a sing-song voice. This woman really knew me like the back of her hand. But I wasn't going to admit it, I didn't know it myself.  
"I don't know what's going on in your head but I am definitely not falling for him. He's like my best friend!" I insisted.  
"Okay, checklist time. Do you feel happy when you're with him?"  
"Well, yeah...but-"  
"Do you talk to him to take your mind off stress?"  
"Yeah, I do but-"  
"Do you feel like the whole world could go to hell and it wouldn't matter as long as he's around?"  
I didn't reply. I didn't reply because I knew the answer, and now I knew what it meant. And I was so scared.  
"So you do feel that way. And also, does time "speed up" when you're with him?"  
"Yeah, it does," I whispered.  
"You're falling for him, Sam. And not to be mean or anything, but you're _so_ massively screwed."  
"Thanks," I mumbled.  
"Oh come on, Sam! Just go out with him, he's a nice guy!"  
"Since when are you so supportive of relationships? I thought you were planning to die alone?"  
"I am but this isn't about me. You're my best friend, Sam, and I don't want you to let go of a good guy when you've finally found one," she said.  
"I don't want to lose him. What if we don't end well? What if there's an ugly break up and we never see each other again? I can't take that risk," I said.  
"I think it's a risk worth taking. He'll treat you good, Sam. He'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated, not like all those assholes you've dated. Give him a chance," she said.  
It took a while for me to admit this to myself, and even longer to admit it to her.  
"I...I want him. I want to be with him. But I don't want to go through another Craig or another Evan. I'm okay with being his friend, I just want him to be there," I said, not being able to meet her eyes.  
"Have you thought about this from his point of view? He likes you, he really likes you. And he wants you too, probably more than you want him. And you keep pushing him away yet you're holding on to him with a death grip, and he's just stuck in the middle. It's not fair to him," she said.  
"I told him not to waste time thinking about me that way..."  
"That really doesn't help, you know. You're thinking about him that way, you say you can't afford to do it but you are, aren't you? It's the same concept."  
"Since when did you become so smart, Mary Elizabeth?" I asked, trying to lighten up the mood, because I would cry if I didn't.  
"Since I saw how stupid you're being," she said with dry humour.  
"Touché."

After Mary Elizabeth left, I thought a lot about this whole thing with Charlie. I really liked him, too. It wasn't even funny how much I liked him. And I wanted to be with him, but every time I kept picturing a big fight after which he would never want to see me again, and that thought was terrifying. I decided that I would do something about this before it got out of hand. And to this day I can't decide if what I did was the best thing I ever did or the worst thing I had ever done.  
I walked to his house to talk to him. I rang the doorbell and I didn't have time to regret my decision because he opened the door and smiled widely.  
"Sam! What are you doing there? Come in," he said and let me in. I gave him a small smile, thinking about how much I would-  
"I was thinking of calling you," he said.  
"Why?"  
"I missed you. So I wanted to talk to you," he said, completely unaware of how much his comment hurt. I missed him too. And I would miss him so much.  
"Okay. I'm here now," I said trying to sound up-beat. I failed horribly.  
His smile softened and he started frowning. "What's wrong, Sam?"  
"Nothing..."  
"You can't lie to me. What happened?" He insisted.  
"We...we need to talk," I whispered, tears already stinging my eyes.  
He frowned even more, and even though I was going to do something so big, I couldn't help but think how cute he looked when he was confused. We sat down on his couch and he put his arm around me, pulling me closer to his body. It wasn't unusual for us to show such affection towards each other. It didn't mean anything, we were just very comfortable around each other.  
"What happened, Sam?" He said softly into my hair. My head was resting on his chest.  
"I can't talk to you anymore," I whispered. He didn't say anything for so long I thought he hadn't heard me. But then his arm which was hugging me fell to my wrist, which he wasn't holding.  
Finally he said, "Did I-did I do something wrong? I-"  
"No, Charlie. You didn't do anything. It's me...it's only me."  
"Sam..."  
I said it before I could lose my courage, "I'm falling for you, Charlie. And I can't do that, but I can't help it because it's you...and you make it so easy. And I can't hurt you anymore, because you're so good and you deserve so much better. It feels so good just to be around you, but I see you looking at me like that and I know you're not moving on. I can see it, Charlie. And it's just so frustrating because you just keep sitting there, through everything I'm putting you through. It scares me, and that's why we can't talk to each other. Because I want you, but I can't handle a relationship, and I think I'm going to lose my control and do something that's not good for either of us. Please, Charlie."  
He didn't say anything for a few moments, which gave me time to realise I was soaking his shirt with my tears.  
He finally said something, and I heard his voice crack.  
"Don't do this to us, Sam. I've already fallen for you, and it hurts so bad. Because I want to hold you for no reason, I want to kiss you, and I want to love you, because you've been used and thrown around by almost everyone you've met in your life, and I want you to know that everyone's not like that. And you just met really bad people. But it hurts that you're acting so blind, you don't even know how much you mean to me. I think of all this, I think about it a lot, but when I see you smile when you're with me it seems worth it, because I think that it was me who made you smile. And for a second that makes it okay. If you are falling for me, what's the problem in that? Why can't we be together?"  
"I don't want to get hurt," I whispered.  
"I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered.  
I couldn't stay there any longer, so I detached myself from him and ran to the door, hearing Charlie's footsteps following and his voice asking me to stop. I stopped at the door and turned around to see Charlie close to me. I couldn't even hear what he was saying, and without thinking I grabbed his face and kissed him, trying to memorise the taste.  
"I'm sorry," I whispered and ran out.  
In that moment, it really did seem like this was the worst thing I'd ever done.

**AN: ooh dramatic! Anyway...I got nothing to say. So see you all later!**

**You know what's next... Review!**


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